The Sonoma Mountains are a northwest–southeast trending

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

of the Inner Coast Ranges in the

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. P ...

System, located in

Sonoma County Sonoma County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa. It is to the n ...

, Northern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Geography

The Sonoma Mountains range is approximately long. It separates the

Sonoma Creek , name_etymology = , image = Beaver Dam Sonoma Creek, Sonoma Thanksgiving 2009.jpg , image_caption = Beaver dam on Sonoma Creek at Maxwell Farms Regional Park in Sonoma, California, 2009 , image_size = 300 , ma ...

watershed from the

Petaluma River The Petaluma River is a river in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin that becomes a tidal slough for most of its length. The headwaters are in the area southwest of Cotati. The flow is generally southward through Petaluma's old town, ...

and

Tolay Creek Tolay Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 10, 2011 southward-flowing stream in southern Sonoma County, California, United States, which flows through Tolay La ...

watersheds. The highest point of this range is

Sonoma Mountain Sonoma Mountain is a prominent landform within the Sonoma Mountains of southern Sonoma County, California. At an elevation of , Sonoma Mountain offers expansive views of the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Sonoma Valley to the east. In fact, ...

, elevation .

Jack London State Historic Park Jack London State Historic Park, also known as Jack London Home and Ranch, is a California State Historic Park near Glen Ellen, California, United States, situated on the eastern slope of Sonoma Mountain. It includes the ruins of a house burned ...

Crane Creek Regional Park Crane Creek Regional Park is a regional park east of Rohnert Park, California, U.S.A. which is maintained by the Sonoma County Regional Parks Department. It covers an area of Crane Creek Regional Park guide, Sonoma County Regional Parks. at . The p ...

, and the

Fairfield Osborn Preserve The Fairfield Osborn Preserve is a 450-acre nature reserve situated on the northwest flank of Sonoma Mountain in Sonoma County, California. There are eight plant communities within the property, oak woodland being the dominant type. Other commu ...

are both on Sonoma Mountain. A number of

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

and

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

are found in the Sonoma Mountains including the fragrant fritillary (''Fritillaria liliacea'').

Hydrology

Many creeks rise in the Sonoma Mountains. From the northwestern slopes, Copeland Creek and

Hinebaugh Creek Hinebaugh Creek (Latitude: 38.35; Longitude:-122.73) is a westward-flowing stream in western Sonoma County within the Laguna de Santa Rosa watershed. As this watercourse proceeds westerly through the city of Rohnert Park, it has largely been cha ...

flow to the

Laguna de Santa Rosa The Laguna de Santa Rosa is a wetland complex that drains a watershed encompassing most of the Santa Rosa Plain in Sonoma County, California, United States. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has issued a safe e ...

, eventually entering the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

just south of

Jenner, California Jenner, also known as Jenner-by-the-Sea, is a small coastal town and census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, U.S. with a population of about 122 per the 2020 census. It is located on the Pacific coast near the mouth of the R ...

Matanzas Creek Matanzas Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 9, 2011 year-round stream in Sonoma County, California, United States, a tributary of Santa Rosa Creek. Course ...

and

Spring Creek A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring creek may additionally be ...

flow north into Santa Rosa Creek, another tributary of the Laguna. Tributaries of

rise on the eastern exposures of the Sonoma Mountains:

Yulupa Creek Yulupa Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 10, 2011 southeast-flowing perennial stream that rises on the southeastern flanks of the northern Sonoma Mountains ...

Carriger Creek Carriger Creek is a stream Sonoma County, California. Southwest of the city of Sonoma, California, its name changes to Fowler Creek. This article covers both parts of the creek. Carriger Creek springs from the eastern slope of Sonoma Mountai ...

, Graham Creek, Felder Creek, and Rogers Creek. These eventually enter

San Pablo Bay San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water c ...

south of

Sonoma, California Sonoma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Sonoma is one of the principal cities of California's Wine Country and the center of the Sonoma Valley AVA. Sonoma's p ...

. The southwestern slopes drain to

by other routes: either

or else some tributary of the

such as

Lichau Creek Lichau Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 9, 2011 southwest-flowing stream in Sonoma County, California, United States, which flows through the town of ...

, Lynch Creek, or Adobe Creek.

References

External links

{{Authority control California Coast Ranges Mountain ranges of Sonoma County, California Mountain ranges of the San Francisco Bay Area Mountain ranges of Northern California

Geography

Hydrology

See also

References

External links